Teachers' Perceptions of the Implementation of the
New NSW Higher School Certificate.
Paul Ayres, Bernice Beechey and John McCormick
School of Education
University of New South Wales
The NSW Higher School Certificate, a high stakes, public, end-of-schooling examination has recently been reformed with major changes to syllabi, assessment and reporting; the first cohort completed the examination in 2001. The aim of this research was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the impact of the changes on their work and motivation. As part of a larger study, eight focus groups were conducted with volunteer teachers in eight randomly selected public high schools. This paper reports these teachers' perceptions of positive and negative aspects of the changes and related processes. The following issues were identified: speed of implementation, workload, teaching the syllabus to students of differing abilities and literacy levels, interpreting the new syllabus, carrying out new assessment procedures, standards referencing, using new technology, development and availability of new resources.
INTRODUCTION
Following the McGaw Review (1997) of the NSW Higher School Certificate teachers began presenting the revised HSC curriculum to the first Year 11 cohort in 2000. Arguably, this marked the most substantial and significant set of curriculum changes to secondary education in NSW since the reforms of the Wyndham Scheme begun in 1962. The changes introduced in 2000 were highly significant, not only for the students, but also for their teachers. The new HSC has meant major changes to what is taught and how students are assessed.
The extensive nature of the changes offered a unique opportunity to study a range of phenomena related to teachers' work. Because of the many issues involved, it was expected that the changes studied would be sources of stress (not necessarily negative) for teachers which could be expected to have important ramifications for teacher motivation and the success, or otherwise, of the curriculum innovations. Consequently this study was designed within a theoretical framework derived from established theories of motivation and occupational stress. A three stage longitudinal study was planned. The first stage employed teacher focus groups to identify the main issues associated with the reforms and to guide the construction of a survey instrument. The second and third stages were designed to survey teachers to investigate the issues on a wider scale, measure how perceptions changed over time, and develop a model for curriculum reform in this context. Only aspects of the first stage are addressed in this paper.
Theoretical framework for the study
For the sake of brevity, only those parts of the theoretical framework that are immediately relevant to the data reported here, are presented below.
Albert Bandura's (1997) social cognitive theory (SCT) provides an extensive framework for understanding human motivation in varying contexts, including work environments (Bandura, 1997; Wood and Bandura, 1996). Self-efficacy is a key construct in SCT. "Perceived self-efficacy is concerned with judgments of personal capability" (Bandura, 1997, p. 11). A key aspect of the self-efficacy construct is that it is highly specific. So, for example, a teacher may feel highly efficacious in teaching one part of a curriculum, yet have low self-efficacy for teaching another; low self-efficacy for one form of lesson delivery, for example, practical laboratory work, and high self-efficacy for, say, presentation of theory. In studies involving motivational variables, self-efficacy has consistently been found to be the best predictor of achievement, and to be quite highly correlated with past achievement (Bandura, 1997; Bong and Clark, 1999). Bandura (1997) has identified four constructs in SCT as sources of self-efficacy beliefs: past mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and physiological states. The following discussion seeks to elaborate these constructs and in doing so, demonstrate the appropriateness of self-efficacy and associated variables for the investigation of teacher motivation associated with the HSC changes.
Mastery experiences are generally the most influential sources of efficacy beliefs. Hence, in terms of the proposed study, if a teacher has experienced past success in delivering components of a curriculum, he or she is likely to have a high self-efficacy for that activity. Vicarious experiences, a means of learning by observing others modelling behaviours, is generally not as strong a source of self-efficacy as mastery experiences. However, it is likely to become more important in circumstances in which there have not been many opportunities for direct experiences (Bandura, 1997). So, for example, in developing a level of self-efficacy in delivering a new curriculum component, information gained from modelling by curriculum experts is likely to be an important contributor. Social persuasion is generally a weaker source of self-efficacy than the two discussed earlier. However, again, in the absence of direct experience, it becomes more significant. It is likely then, that the agency beliefs that are communicated to a person by significant others will contribute to self-efficacy. A teacher who works with colleagues who articulate a supportive, positive, "can do" attitude to implementation of a new curriculum component is likely to develop a higher self-efficacy for teaching the curriculum component than if the opposite were the case. The fourth and weakest source of self-efficacy beliefs is physiological state. People who experience negative, aversive arousal or anxiety associated with a particular activity are likely to interpret this as an indication of low capability to successfully perform the activity, with a consequent lowering of self-efficacy for the activity (Bandura, 1997). Hence, stress associated with the introduction of a new curriculum component may contribute negatively to a teacher's self-efficacy for teaching it.
The likely impact of major curriculum changes on teachers' self-efficacy is further emphasised by recent research into teacher effectiveness. A study of HSC teachers by Ayres, Dinham and Sawyer (2000, 2001) found that effective HSC teachers share a number of characteristics that are common across the curriculum. Effective teachers have expert knowledge of the syllabus and the HSC exam. They are highly experienced and have built up vast resource bases around the HSC. Many belong to strong departmental teams, members of which provide their own professional development and mentor early career teachers. Consequently, changes to the curriculum are likely to affect the subject knowledge base of teachers, reduce the relevance of established resources and interfere with the overall effectiveness of teaching teams. All of which have the potential to affect the components of self-efficacy as outlined above.
This paper details findings of the focus group data which were collected in August and September 2001. This was a critical time period because teachers had gained some experience of teaching the new courses for the first time, and it was just prior to students completing the final exams. This timing meant that the main issues associated with the new syllabuses and the overall implementation were current. Hence, the focus group data were a source of vital information collected in the still early stages of the implementation of curriculum reform in the state New South Wales.
The data collected in the focus group sessions were specifically used to identify:
teachers' positive and negative perceptions of the changes to the HSC and related processes;
METHOD
The Participants
Focus groups were conducted in eight comprehensive high schools chosen on a stratified random basis representing metropolitan (4), outer metropolitan (2), regional (1) and country town (1) locations. In total, 63 staff participated, including 38 classroom teachers, 21 Heads of Department (HOD), one Deputy and two Principals. Overall, there were 19 subject areas represented, with each school providing at least one teacher for each of English and Mathematics.
Procedure
At the beginning of each focus group meeting, all participants were informed that the purpose was to gather the views of teachers about changes to the HSC. Discussions were guided and stimulated by a set schedule of questions (see Appendix). The questions were structured to draw out both positive and negative opinions about the changes and their effects on teachers, and the contributions of various organisations. In typical focus group fashion, the teachers frequently developed in-depth discussions around issues they considered to be significant to them and their schools. Consequently, despite a common set of questions, each school provided unique case studies. The data are presented and analysed school by school. The focus group meetings ranged from 35 minutes to 1 hour and whole sessions were recorded on audio-cassettes and later transcribed.
Data Analysis
An overall content analysis was completed on the data from the eight schools. In total, 220 unique concepts (items) were identified. By grouping concepts that seemed to relate to the same phenomena, a three-stage hierarchy was constructed. Analysis of the data across schools and teachers revealed that there was a number of common themes, attracting both positive and negative comments, as predicted by the theoretical framework. This paper reports on three of these themes labelled: Syllabuses, Implementation, and Resources.
Initially the data were organised by recording the particular sub-categories (from the bank of 220 items) with which each individual teacher comment could be directly associated. From these teacher profiles, individual school profiles were constructed by recording the total number of sub-categories that could be linked with the pool of teachers from each school. For example, if at least one teacher at a school stated that she or he was concerned with the "overall difficulty of the new syllabus", that school was then identified with this sub-category. Following this organisation, a school tally was constructed by totalling the number of schools linked with each sub-category. For example, if six schools could be linked with the sub-category "overall difficulty of the new syllabus", the tally for that item was six, regardless of how many teachers in the six schools commented on it. As a result of this analysis, it was possible to identify the most common issues most raised across the schools.
RESULTS
Theme 1: Syllabuses
The extent to which the new syllabuses had changed depended very much on the subject areas. Even if the content of specific subjects had not changed substantially, it was often reported that a different teaching approach was required. Teachers were generally aware of the amount of change in their own subjects and other subjects. For example, History and PD/H/PE teachers often pointed out that their subjects had not had great changes in content whilst English and Science teachers considered that there had been significantly more.
Well having taught PD/H/PE, the course as I said, hadn't changed that much. (PDHPE teacher)
The whole philosophical underpinning of the English syllabus has changed radically. (English teacher)
The following section lists the main perceptions of both negative and positive aspects of the syllabus changes.
Negative aspects of the syllabus changes
The major negative opinion expressed by teachers focused on the level of difficulty of the new syllabuses. A common concern was that they had become too difficult. In particular, the situation for lower ability students was raised at all of the schools. Many teachers expressed the view that these students were not being catered for by the new HSC courses.
Dropping the "Personalities and their Times" options which is the easier ... has forced the kids who are not quite capable but do have an interest in the subject to do the tougher 2 Unit course and that does make it difficult. (History teacher)
English teachers, in particular, expressed concerns about the conflict between the increase in rigour and the lack of courses to suit all levels of students.
We no longer have three courses which really did cater for the different levels at which students operated. Now we only have two courses and our Standard course is extremely challenging for students who don't have the time management skills, the research skills, just the ability to read with a sense of reading for different meaning or perception. This course is making life very difficult for them. It is excruciating to watch them trying to come to terms with the course. (English teacher)
Some teachers commented that they were advising some of their students not to attempt courses that they considered were too difficult for the less able students. Schools and teachers were making judgements about the suitability of some courses for the students at their schools and choosing not to offer those courses.
We only had the one change but it has probably resulted in a substantial number of kids actually not doing Maths for the HSC anymore ... I certainly recommend to certain students that they would be better off not doing Maths. (Mathematics teacher)
At six of the schools the increased literacy demand in many subjects was raised as a difficulty for many students.
One of the things that certainly comes into Visual Arts at the moment is that they require higher and higher levels of literacy skills and English skills, they need to be good essay writers. (Visual Arts teacher)
Other teachers were particularly concerned for those students with a non-English speaking background.
I feel that the courses are all skewed towards the upper end of ability and the lowest ability course Senior Science still disadvantages a number of ESL and NESB students. (Science teacher)
Furthermore, teachers at five schools expressed the opinion that some courses had aspects that were even difficult for teachers, especially in terms of new material and approaches that older teachers had not met during their tertiary training. There was an awareness of the need for further training for teachers to assist them to deal with the new requirements.
It is based on a whole philosophy shifted from a traditional Leavisite approach to a post-modernism and most teachers have not been trained in post-modernism, let alone post-structuralism. Our training is back in the 50s, back, sorry in the 70s, so we lack the philosophical basis to teach the course. (English teacher)
These data suggested areas for further enquiry into teacher self-efficacy. Clearly, not only teachers, but also students may be expected to have had few mastery experiences if the level of difficulty of the syllabuses were perceived as too high. For some teachers, mastery of the old syllabuses and related content and approaches had not been replaced by mastery of the new.
Positive aspects of the syllabus changes
Modernising the courses was most frequently (in seven schools) cited as a positive aspect of the changes.
Now, in Science, there was obviously a need for a new syllabus, that was never going to be argued and the concept of putting everything in context and updating our science and having new ideas and new discoveries as part of the Science course that was all excellent. (Science teacher)
The increased opportunities and variety of topics, especially for the more able students, were also mentioned as positive (in six groups).
The extra unit of English, the fourth unit is a good opportunity for those gifted kids to be able to explore that because it's an opportunity for those kids to create almost a major work in English, which we've been crying out for, for years. (English teacher)
The incorporation of outcomes within the syllabus structure was also seen as a positive change for a number of reasons. Some teachers said that the emphasis on outcomes made them and the students more consciously aware of the teaching and assessing processes.
Also it makes you more focussed on what you are doing in the classroom because you're looking at what outcomes you are satisfying in the lesson or assessment. It's a whole lot more integrated, it tends to focus you on what you are doing and the student are focused as well and there is, for want of a better word, a far more professional atmosphere in the classroom. (English teacher)
A number of issues connected to how the changes were implemented was identified.
In all eight focus groups teachers reported that there had been insufficient time allowed to properly implement the new syllabuses. The perception that the implementation of the syllabuses had been rushed was strongly expressed in every one of the focus groups and for all of the 19 subject areas represented. Teachers frequently stated it as a bald fact. The following quote was typical:
I think we all thought it was very, very rushed. (English teacher)
Teachers were not unwilling to implement the new syllabuses but expressed the belief that implementation would have been smoother and less stressful if there had been another year for them to prepare resources and programs and to allow for fine tuning of areas in which there were interpretation difficulties. Some teachers expressed dissatisfaction that they had not had enough time to prepare proper programs and information for their students, and had unfortunately worked in an atmosphere of expediency.
So we're running with it ...but we would have preferred more time to make the classroom work more appropriate for those kids who are struggling. (English teacher)
Some teachers considered that their professional status was threatened by the lack of time available to prepare thoroughly.
A lot of our talking is just done as always over a cup of coffee at recess but that's not real planning time, it shouldn't be done like that there should be opportunities to sit as a group of professionals and plan it properly, sadly there isn't. (English teacher)
First Time through
A number of issues arose which focused on the effects of this first year of implementation. Teachers' uncertainty about the process of implementation and the apparent lack of certainty shown by external consultants led one teacher to express the feeling that teachers and students had no control, and were the subjects of an experiment.
In a way we all feel we're being experimented with and upon. (History teacher)
Teachers in four focus groups said that they were already seeing improvement in their interpretation and ability to cover the amount of content over the 18 months of implementation. They reported that as a result of the previous year's experience they were already more comfortable with the work for the new 2001 Preliminary group. There was also a feeling that, whilst there was uncertainty at the moment, teachers would come to understand the requirements of the new courses. Some teachers indicated that as they gained mastery experiences their confidence was increasing.
I think we got better and better over the 18 months or so. I wouldn't have said so, maybe 12 months ago I would have said "no, we're struggling" But I think we're getting better and better and I think the people doing Preliminary now are quite comfortable. (Mathematics teacher)
Although some teachers did acknowledge that the situation would improve in time, many expressed the opinion that the rushed implementation had led to mistakes and inflicted damage on teachers and students.
I think eventually you obviously are going to make it but this year ... there are a lot of mistakes ... I guess you get better at doing it and fitting the things in. (Language teacher)
In particular, teachers were very concerned that the 2001 cohort should not be disadvantaged by being the first group examined under the new system.
You've got to do the best for this particular group of students, they can't say it will be all right in the future, they're concerned about the present group. (Science teacher)
One can, again, interpret these data in terms of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997). Too little time available for implementation of the changes is potentially too little time for teachers and students to master the changes and for consultants to model successful behaviours.
The amount of work and time involved in the preparation of new teaching material, programs and assessments was raised in all eight of the focus groups.
Speaking from Science I found that the amount of work involved has been horrendous with new programs being written for a number of subjects. (Science teacher)
The effect of the work needed to prepare for the new syllabuses was frequently seen in teachers' references to time pressures. This was a time pressure for teachers and was spoken of by 40% of the teachers.
I have had to do a great deal of the finding of resources, it puts an extra stress on the time and just my brain. (English teacher)
Teachers in seven of the eight focus groups spoke of taking many hours to find information and prepare resources for their classes, and their comments conveyed the time pressures they were experiencing. Teachers expressed frustration about the time taken to find information for their classes on the Internet. In five of the focus groups the preparation of assessment tasks and examinations which properly address the outcomes of the course was of great concern to teachers, and the increase in the amount of time which it took to prepare these assessments was reported to be significant.
The amount of work for teachers has increased incredibly to do what is required effectively, to take the Specimen Papers and then reflect back into your assessment tasks, the assessment grids, marking guidelines and provide the feedback to students. (HSIE teacher)
Furthermore, the process of recording assessment results and communication of results to students was generally seen to be more complicated than it had been. At six of the eight schools the amount of content to be covered and the difficulty of completing the syllabus in the time allowed was raised. This led to issues of time pressure.
The amount of work is just formidable and it was almost impossible to get through it to the depth required in the time required. (Modern History teacher)
As the implementation was taking more of their time, teachers were aware of the need for effective time management to be able to fulfil the requirements. This was talked of as a difficulty in five focus groups. Teachers commented that the time needed to do preparation, and to network with other teachers and schools to get information, had to come out of their own time, creating a problem of balance between their work and home lives.
There is no way I can say tonight look "I've got Year 12 tomorrow, I'm not doing any preparation" There's no way you can do that. You have to go out and pick up your children
or do what you do and then you do the work. It's not a 9 to 3.30 job. I'm not complaining about that, I'm saying this is more. (Mathematics teacher)The provision and availability of resources for the new courses were issues of great concern for teachers. In each of the focus groups, teachers expressed the opinion that there were too few resources available to properly support the new courses and that many resources were only available after they had started teaching the courses.
There are resources coming out now that we could have found very, very valuable at the beginning of the year. (English teacher)
Whilst some teachers were pleased that some syllabuses allowed for a wider range of content and case studies, the lack of resources and information about some topics was perceived to have had the effect of narrowing students' choices in some subjects. Furthermore, lack of funding led to perceptions of inequity, with some teachers believing that their students were being disadvantaged compared to those in some non-government schools who had better resources.
Availability of textbooks was identified as a key issue. In particular, some subject teachers reported that no textbooks could be purchased for their courses at the start of the year.
The books weren't written until more than half way through the year by the time they came out as a discrete textbook for that course and in our subject. I guess we like our students to have a textbook because it is the bones of the course that they can use it to supplement what we do in class. (Social Science teacher
)It was also noted by some, that the earliest, available publications were not necessarily the best ones to have chosen, and some faculties deliberately waited to see a wider range of textbooks rather than only choosing from the early publications. Cost was also an issue. Generally, there was a perception that the Department of Education had not provided enough monetary support for the provision of new textbooks for the new courses.
Specimen exam papers were seen as important to complement the syllabus documents and to assist teachers in the interpretation of the depth required in the courses, and as a guide to the types of questions to be asked in the HSC examinations. However, concerns were expressed over the quality of the papers. Teachers of Visual Arts were particularly critical about their specimen paper which did not have all of the images in it.
I think it is shocking that we only have one specimen paper ...it is meant to be full of images and they don't even have the images there, just blank spaces. ... I had to spend hours searching for them I could find them eventually. You would think you would have one complete specimen paper if not two. (Visual Arts teacher)
There was also strong criticism from a number of subjects about the fact that there was only one specimen paper for each course.
I think another problem is having only one Specimen Paper; that was ridiculous. (Society and Culture teacher)
To overcome the lack of specimen papers and to reduce workload many faculties used some of their budget to buy papers produced by professional associations and the independent sector.
We buy in anything as much as we possibly can to reduce the workload in that area, Independent, Catholic trial papers. (HSIE teacher)
Most of us seem to have accessed some trial papers from Independent schools. (English teacher)
The Internet
Many teachers were aware of information available on the Internet from a range of sources. However, the large amount of information potentially available on the Internet was often seen as overwhelming for some teachers, as was the difficulty of actually finding what they wanted. The amount of time that it took to search for information on the web was seen as a great problem for teachers who found this added greatly to their preparation time.
Because of the style and nature of the course you don't have a set textbook, that's not really available but the time that it takes to go searching on the Internet for a particular one little aspect of the course takes hours. (Community and Family teacher)
Teachers frequently said that access at school was a problem because of the lack of computers, slow connection times and unreliable connection. Again, comparisons with the private sector were made in terms of student inequity.
Teachers of Science and English spoke of the need for new equipment to meet the particular needs of their subjects. Science teachers often noted the $4000 grant which was given to schools to purchase Data Loggers, but there were opinions that more was needed for other equipment. Those responsible for choosing and purchasing the new equipment were concerned to make the best choices. Some English teachers spoke about the provision of the technology needed to teach about film in the new English syllabuses. These teachers reported that the limitations imposed by the equipment they had compromised the teaching of film as text. There was also an awareness of the need for teachers to be trained in the use of new technological equipment. The need for teachers to use computer technology was seen as a new skill and it was observed that training should be provided for teachers.
Some of the syllabus requires spreadsheet work and computer applications and some of the older staff members who are not very computer literate are struggling with that sort of access as well. (Mathematics teacher)
There were mixed opinions about the usefulness of existing resources. For some subjects, the new syllabuses were not so different and existing resources were still useful. In other cases, it was pointed out that whilst the content of some areas was the same, the change in focus of the course meant that the approach to teaching should be different and that those teachers using old notes and resources would not be implementing the new syllabus intentions.
So I would say that those old resources are not terribly useful really because things should be different in the classroom than they used to be. So if you're using those old resources then you're not really changing with the new syllabus. (English teacher)
In all eight schools teachers expressed the opinion that there had not been sufficient inservices for teachers to implement the new HSC courses successfully.
There's been things on but really it hasn't been enough I think the inservicing has been shabby. (PD/H/PE teacher)
Some teachers were critical of the Department of Education for not providing more training opportunities.
There's been very little from the Department as far as training and development on outcomes based reports. (Mathematics teacher)
The limit on the number of teachers who could attend inservices was also seen as a shortcoming, which placed a great responsibility on those who attended to share information when they returned to school. However, some teachers were positive about what they had learnt at the inservices they attended.
One afternoon and that was really good but it was just one off and obviously there are so many issues in schools you can't have staff development days constantly. (PD/H/PE teacher)
On the other hand, some inservices were criticised for not addressing the basic needs of teachers in courses for which there had been great changes in focus and content.
We didn't get it, inservicing, in the philosophical underpinnings. We got inservicing in, I think, the nuts and bolts of how to read the syllabus but didn't get inservicing in how to read for ourselves. (English teacher)
There was the view that, like other resources, some inservices were provided too late in the course.
I went to an inservice course 2 months ago and some of the things we were told there should have been information given to schools at least 2 years ago on how to report and assess these new outcomes. (Mathematics teacher)
CONCLUSIONS
A number of issues was connected to the new syllabuses. Many teachers reported that some new syllabuses were too difficult for students. In particular, it was commonly expressed that "less able" students, those from an NESB background, and those with weak literacy skills, had been disenfranchised. Some teachers even related that the new syllabuses were problematic for teachers themselves. However, it was often noted that the extent of the changes varied according to the different subject areas. Nevertheless, there were some positive views expressed. Some teachers said that many of the new syllabuses had modernised the subjects and offered a greater variety of topics, especially for the "more able" students. Positive statements were also made about the introduction of outcomes and the more consistent structure of some courses.
However, in terms of the implementation, there was an overwhelming opinion expressed that there was insufficient time to properly implement the new syllabuses. Teachers generally were not unwilling to implement them but many suggested that if there had been a one-year delay, the implementation would have been much smoother, resulting in fewer problems. Generally, teachers thought that the situation would improve in future as they gained mastery of the changes. However, there was an underlying concern that the 2001 HSC cohort had been treated unfairly. Teachers also expressed strong views on the workload associated with the changes. Preparation of new material and outcomes-based assessment was often cited for increased workloads and time management problems.
Teachers expressed opinions that there were too few resources available to properly support the new courses and that many were only available after they had started teaching the courses. Lack of resources was seen as compromising student preparation, and some thought that independent schools had better access to resources. The usefulness of existing resources tended to depend upon the courses taught, as syllabuses' changes varied considerably over subject areas. It was often acknowledged by many that the Internet was a vital source of information, although, time and access issues were raised as negative aspects. Some teachers expressed the views that they lacked certain technologies and technology training. Generally, many expressed the view that in-services provided in preparation for the changes were too few. However, again the strength of this perception depended upon the subjects taught.
The data reported here were part of a larger, three-stage study. Although, as outlined above, the focus group data arguably provide valuable insights into the implementation of major changes in the new NSW HSC, their main contribution is in identifying aspects of the changes that could be expected to be related to the development of self-efficacy for teaching the new syllabuses, in particular, aspects related to opportunities to develop a sense of mastery over new processes and content.
REFERENCES
Ayres, P., Dinham, S. & Sawyer, W. (2000) Successful Senior Secondary School Teaching. First monograph in a series on quality teaching. Australian College of Education: ACT.
Ayres, P., Sawyer, W. & Dinham, S. (2001) Effective teaching and student independence at grade 12. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Education Research Association, Seattle, April 11, 2001.
Bandura, A. (1997) Self-Efficacy: The exercise of control. NY: W. H. Freeman.
Bong, M., & Clark, R.E. (1999) Comparison between self-concept and self-efficacy in academic motivation research, Educational Psychologist, 34, pp. 139-153.
McGaw, B. (1996) Their Future: Options for reform of the Higher School Certificate. Sydney: Department of Training and Education Co-ordination.
McGaw, B. (1997) Shaping Their Future: Recommendations for reform of the Higher School Certificate. Sydney: Department of Training and Education Co-ordination.
Wood, R. & Bandura, A. (1996) Social cognitive theory of organizational management. In R. M. Steers, L. W. Porter and G. A. Bigley (Eds.), Motivation and Leadership at Work (6th ed), (pp. 84-94). NY: McGraw-Hill.
Acknowledgements
The researchers wish to thank the teachers who gave their time to participate in the focus group sessions, the NSW Department of Education & Training and the Principals who gave permission to complete this stage of the study, and the UNSW Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences which funded the study.
APPENDIX: Focus Group Protocol
Preliminary statement.
The purpose of this discussion is to gather information about changes in the NSW Higher School Certificate. It will be very helpful if you share specific examples, without mentioning any names. The discussion will be recorded on audiotape and neither the school nor any individual will be identified.
Question schedule